Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Santa Claus In Nebraska, Oklahoma

OMAHA, Neb. -- Spc. Heather Davey put a $587 plane ticket on her credit card so she could go home for the holidays, figuring she would worry later about how to pay for it.

The 34-year-old mother of two has one less worry now. She and 40 other members of the Nebraska Army National Guard's 110th Medical Battalion training at Fort Lewis, Wash., found out Thursday that Nebraska business leaders would pay the soldiers' fares home...

Banker Roy Dinsdale of Palmer and 20 of his friends and associates put up the $24,000 needed to get the soldiers home. An additional $16,000 that was raised will be kept in reserve.

Generous capitalists brought these soldiers home, businessmen who truly support the troops.

Nearly 2,200 members of the 45th Infantry Brigade arrived in Oklahoma Sunday morning to spend the holidays with the family and friends that helped get them here.

Twenty-three buses full of troops began to arrive about 9 a.m. at three locations around the state...

The arrival came nearly a week after Maj. General Harry M. Wyatt announced that donations made by the American Legion of Oklahoma, private businesses and individual Oklahomans had made it possible for the troops to spend a 10-day leave at home with their families for the holidays...

Altebaumer said some troops opted for traveling by plane or by rental car, but all 2,600 of the brigade’s troops chose to leave Fort Bliss, Texas, where they have been training since late October.

On Jan. 2, the troops will go back to Fort Bliss. Later that month, they will deploy to Iraq. The troops are expected to return sometime in September, Altebaumer said.

Here's to hoping that all of these fine soldiers from Oklahoma and Nebraska will be home again next Christmas.